Fullmetal Alchemist Ghost Stories
by Black-Angel-001
Summary: After having a major argument, the boys meet a young girl who is not all she appears to be.


**Fullmetal Alchemist Ghost Stories**

**Black-Angel-001: one of my friends helped me with typos cause my typing sucks right now because i've got my wrist in a sorta cast but its more of a...never mind, i can't explain it...sufice it to say, i can't move my wrist very well...**

**Fullmetal Alchemist Ghost Stories**

It was raining. Always rain. Why? It was just something that occured whenever someone got depressed or upset about something. Edward tossed his soaking hair out of his face, taking the opportunity to glance at his brother. Alphonse kept staring straight ahead, as if he weren't even bothered by the fact that the brothers had had a heated argument. Was he going to apologize? Not likely. That's how they worked; neither would say they were sorry for a while, not while the words and anger hung between them.

Al hated the cold silence seperating him and his older brother. His thoughts were so full of the previous days his mind was whirling. He supressed a sigh, knowing Ed would know his thoughts if he did that. Al heard a gasp to his left and turned to face Edward. The oldest Elric was looking at a small figure sitting on the muddy road. Concerned for the person's welfare, the two began walking faster. After a few feet they found a little girl sitting there calmly, staring staright ahead at nothing. Her legs were pulled up to her chest, arms wroapped around them. She started and looked up at them, hope flaring up in her face, which soon faded out. Al took in the condition of her clothes, torn and burned, her face and hands covered in dirt. A sudden burst of anger ran through Ed. What responsible, or better yet sensible, adult would allow a child to go around like that?

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Yep, are you?" The girls voice was barely audible.

"Uh, yeah, I am I guess. Where's your mom and dad?"

"I dunno."

"What's your name?"

"Miranda McBride. What's your names?" She looked up at them again. Her eyes were borederling blue and red. Miranda's hair was a few shades darker than Al's had been. There was a child's innocence and adult's knowlede written in her features.

"How old are you?" Al asked Miranda. She smiled up at him.

"I'm eight!" From the look on her face, the boys knew that she probably felt grown up.

"My name's Alphonse Elric and this is my brother Edward Elric." Ed nodded at her. Miranda tilted her head, considering them.

"Funny, you don't look like brothers."

"It's a complicated matter," replied Al. "Where do you live? We can take you home."

"Actually we..." Ed began but stopped when Al began to cough lightly.

"You don't have to," Miranda stated as she stood up. "I don't live that far away, just down the road."

Still they followed the young Miranda, who occasionaly peered over her shoulder, as if looking for something or someone. The house they arrived at was huge. White with multiple windows lining the building, it looked like the kind of place a rich person would live in. Miranda motioned for them to follow her and they did, studying the hallway and various other interesting aspects of the house. The little girl showed them were they would be staying and left them a few towels to dry off with. After that she left them alone to their own devices.

"Not what I was expecting, but I guess it's okay," Ed's muffled voice commented.

"It's strange. I haven't seen any other people here since we arrived," Al said.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. C'mon Al, lets take a look around."

They found a library full of different books and manuscripts. It was all on alchemy. Ed and Al hadn't seen that many volumes on the subject since the short time they'd stayed with Tucker. They took a few of the volumes down and began thumbing through the white pages. Ed's eyes widened when he caught some words regarding the Philosopher's Stone. He began reading.

"What're you doin'?"

The brothers turned toward the doorway. Miranda was still clad in her burned and ragged clothes. Her face was curious, gazing at them suspiciously.

"Miranda, who do these books belong to?" asked Ed.

"Daddy and he don't like no one reading them without his permission."

Ed strode over to her and bent down to her eyelevel. He held the thick book up for her to see. "Tell me, has your daddy told you anything about something called the 'Philosopher's Stone'? Anything at all?"

Miranda stared at the page for a second. She frowned and slowly backed away. Ed couldn't understand her reaction. Al came over.

"Mama told me not to talk about it, she always got upset if even daddy talked about it."

"Why?" Al asked.

"'Cause grandma and grandpa didn't like it. I don't think they liked daddy much either."

"Okay Miranda, we won't talk about it." Ed closed the book and stood. The child looked relieved. The tension was erased from her face and she was perky.

"Come on. I wanna show you the backyard." After returning the books to their proper places on the shelves, the Elrics followed.

It was an interesting time spent, that day and night. Miranda talked about everything except the few things Edward and Alphonse wanted to know. Where were her parents? As far as they could see, there was no one around to take care of the little girl. It was obvious from the library that her father was an alchemist: what did he know about the Stone?

"Miranda."

She looked up from the floor. She was reading a children's book of nursery rythms. "Yes, Ed?"

"Tell me about your parents."

Miranda smiled widely. She got up and stood to the right of Ed, who was sitting in an armchair. Al was sitting on the couch across from him, silent and thinking. Ed could smell smoke clinging to her skin and clothes, which were still battered.

"Mama was really pretty. She had long dark brown hair and really pretty eyes. Daddy was big and strong and he laughed alot. But, sometimes he had to go away for a long time. What about your parents?" She looked over her shoulder at Al, confused about a sudden thought. "How come you and Al don't really talk to each other? You're brothers, right? Brothers are supposed to love each other. Don't you two love each other?"

Ed's gaze turned slowly to his younger brother, who was still in the same position as before. Sure, they loved each other. They'd had fights before and had gotten over them quickly enough, so why was this time different? Ed shook his head and allowed a small smile.

"Yeah, we love each other. I guess we just need some time alone from each other or something. Anyway, I think we should get going. Thanks for helping us out, Miranda." She was disappointed. She didn't want them to go, not after all the fun they'd had.

"Do you hafta?" pouted the girl.

"Yes, we do." He pated the top of her head. "Don't worry, we'll be back to visit."

"That's what Daddy always said." With her head down, Miranda took off running. Ed started to go after her, but Al stoped her.

"Let her be brother. We need to go or else this will be harder."

He was right, of course.

When they got into town a few hours later, they went to an inn that also served as a resturant.

"You two didn't walk all the way here from Springfield, did you? It would've taken at least a day or two," the inn keeper stated after hearing Ed tell him about what and where they were coming from and doing.

"No, we stayed the night at Miranda's house."

The keeper paused in his motions. He looked at the Elrics. "Miranda? As in Miranda McBride? Where did you meet her?"

"On the dirt road, near her house." Al was surprised. What was going on? The usual husstle that came with an inn was gone, everything was quiet.

"Her house? What are you two talking about?"

"That huge house a few miles away from town? What, none of you have ever seen it?"

"We've seen it alright...before it burned down," commented a man playing poker.

"Huh? Then how come it's standing?" Al looked around.

"Five years ago, Alan McBride left at the Fuhr's request to take care of some buisness for him. The rumors are, Alan was told to execute some Ishbalan rebels who had been caught but he didn't so he was killed along with them."

"Miranda's father was a State alchemist?"

"Yep, one of the best. They called him, the "Crystal Light" alchemist. Surprised everyone when he married Judith." The man shook his head and chuckled as if laughing at some humorus memory.

"Why, because she didn't want to marry anyone?"

"No, because she was Ishbalan."

Okay, not what the brothers were expecting.

"I thought Ishbalan's rejected alchemy," mused Al.

"They do. Alan and Judith made an agreement. He wouldn't practice his alchemy in front of her and their children and she wouldn't go on about her religion and they would both tell their kids equal amounts of both." The inn keeper shrugged. "All in all it worked out."

"What happened to Judith?"

"Well, about two years later some people from this town who had hated the idea of an Ishbal living around here decided to go and rob the house and kill Judith. Miranda was supposed to be over at a friends house but she had snuck back home for some odd reason or another. After the group did some horrible things to Judith, they torched the house. Judith made it out but poor little Miranda..." Ed noticed that everyone there was sad about the incident. "Miranda hadn't made it. I myself was one of the three that found her body."

"And Judith?" promted Al.

"She died just hours later after we found Miranda. So you see why we can't really believe that you met Miranda and stayed at her house." With that, the inn keeper and everyone else went back to what they were doing, as if they'd never had that discussion.

When Ed and Al went back to house, all they found was a pile of charred wood and ruble. In the breeze, a child's cries carried.


End file.
